Okay, well, here I am, all sick, and I'm updating! Can't you at least be happy that I'm not sleeping instead of writing? And, just so you know, this chapter does not have anything but first impressions of appearance. Well, not much anyway. But we do get to meet Edward's butler! They did call them butlers back then, did they not? Hee. Well, on with the chapter!

Bella

It had been three minutes since I had rang the bell, and already I was becoming irritated. I stood impatiently, fidgeting with my sleeves and tapping my foot. I glanced at the door through the gates every thirty seconds, glaring when, in four more minutes, nobody had emerged. I was beginning to think that I should just turn around and leave.

A minute later, though, I let out a sigh of relief when the door opened. A man, probably in his early thirties, stepped out. His hair was brown, as were his eyes. He was muscular, but only slightly in the arms. I was sure he wouldn't be able to take a hit. His stomach bulged out a little, too.

If this was the duke, Tanya had been crushing on a man way too old – and not good enough in my opinion – for her. If this was the duke, Tanya had been exaggerating a lot.

I noticed though, that he didn't wear the clothes of an extremely high status. Yet he was not, in any way, close to looking like a servant. I figured he must be the butler (Again, did they call them that back then? I would have to say that this was in about the late 1600's). I had no other answer.

"Hello," he sneered as he took in my appearance. I gathered that he did not act kindly to those of a lower ranking. But I answered back politely anyway.

"Hello. I am here to deliver a message."

"To whom, may I ask?" He seemed to ask this question to be polite, and only for the fraction of a chance that it was not for the person he thought it was for. He seemed to already know.

"The duke." He snorted at this and muttered "figures" under his breath. It made me wonder how many other servants Tanya had deliver messages to the duke…and how many were sent away in the failed attempt.

The butler took in my appearance once more and walked back through the door. I could only hope that he wasn't sending for anyone to throw me out.

Once again, I became impatient. My foot resumed its tapping and I started to squirm. Waiting was not my specialty.

As I stood there, a figure started to come closer, but not from the door. It seemed to come from the gardens, and as I watched, I saw that it was another servant, like me. But this one was a boy.

As he walked closer, I took in his appearance. He was not what I expected at all. Although, to be truthful, I hadn't known what I was expecting.

He had blond hair, sticking up from some task that he had just previously finished. He had bright blue eyes, and his face brightened when he saw me; I was another servant to talk to. He was kind of cute, but I couldn't help compare him to the duke in my dreams. Compared to that, he was nothing.

"Hello," he greeted me, a smile on his face. "I'm Mike. Who might you be?" A twinkle played in his eye, and I felt the urge to shudder.

"Isabella," I informed him, wincing at my full name. "But please, call me Bella. And it's nice to meet you, Mike."

His grin widened at my statement, and his face turned childish. "You know, you're really pretty."

His face didn't seem ashamed, and I wondered if he didn't care about being blunt. Apparently it wasn't considered somewhat rude to him. I felt a pool of blush rush to my cheeks, and I was sure that they were turning pink.

I smiled back at him. "Thank you."

"Well," he began, his face turning into a frown, "I really should get going. I have to complete Tyler's errand. He's too lazy to do anything himself." He rolled his eyes at that. "I'll see you around."

"Sure." I bit my lip as I watched him walk away. At least he would be one person that could make my trips here – which would definitely be happening – bearable. That is, if the duke wasn't the type of person that I liked.

As soon as Mike was gone, I became lonely and impatient once more. I wasn't becoming any happier, and my lips pulled into a frown. I wasn't going to wait outside all day.

After what seemed like hours, another man emerged, this time from the door.

As he walked towards me, all I could see at first was that he was well built, much more so than the butler or Mike. He carried himself with importance. He walked down the path with pride. His hair wasn't brown, but it wasn't quite orange either. I decided that it was bronze.

And then, as he stopped five feet away from me, I worked hard to stifle a gasp. His face was flawless, all his features perfect. His hair, which I had recently been studying, was messy, not at all fixed to look proper like most of the noble men. His skin was a tiny bit pale, and you could see his muscles beneath it. His lips were just the shape for his face, and light enough so as to not stand out. But that didn't mean they didn't to me.

Lastly, I looked into his eyes, and it took even more restraint to breathe normally. They were light, depthless pools of green. They reminded me of emeralds, yet brighter and, somehow, more beautiful. They sparkled in the light and captured me in their gaze. My knees went weak, and I couldn't look away.

But he looked down to unlock the gate, and I was then able to tear my gaze away. Although I wished I were able to gaze into his eyes all day, I would be mortified if he caught me staring. I knew I was already blushing as it was.

The man opened the gate.

"Come in." He only spoke two small words, but they took my breath away. His voice was so smooth, so beautiful. It was irresistible, and all I wanted was to hear more.

And then it all clicked, and I knew.

This was the duke.

This was Edward Cullen.

Edward

I stared at the pages of the novel I was reading, though I couldn't understand any of the words.

I was frustrated; for the past week, when I had sat down to play the piano, nothing came out right. It had never been this way. I had always been able to use the piano to let out my feelings, each drop of emotion coming out in a note, a chord, a tune. But today, after failing once more, I had decided to just let it go for the time being. I was giving up.

I pounded my fist on the desk.

Just the, my butler, Spoden, walked in. I had never called him by his first name. He was always Spoden to me.

"Hello, Spoden," I greeted him, placing a bookmark in the volume I held and then shutting it with a thump.

"Good day, Sir," he responded in a bored voice. "There is a girl at the gate who insists she must deliver a message to you. I strongly believe she is one of Tanya's servants."

I sighed. At least twice a week, Tanya sent one of her servants to deliver a message to me. The messenger usually changed every two or three weeks. After a while, she had stopped sending them, and I had gained hope that she would stop her useless attempts to make me love her. I was sadly wrong.

I wondered for a second if Tanya had sent a different girl this time or if it was the same one as last time. I really hoped it wasn't the latter; the last girl had shamelessly flirted with me every time she caught a glimpse of me.

I reluctantly stood up from my comfortable chair and walked to the window. I pulled the mahogany curtains aside to peek through.

The girl on the other side of the glass was indeed wearing the dress of Tanya's servants, but the sigh I let out wasn't one of exasperation, but instead of longing and awe. From here the girl looked beautiful.

I could see her brown hair blowing in the wind and her petite features made her look very soft, but in a good way. My eyes softened.

And then I watched as her head turned around and Newton, one of my servants, walked up to her. Anger coursed through my veins. Who was he to meet this mysterious beauty when I, master of this house, still had not?

As the figures behind the window began to speak, I saw the girl's cheeks turn pink. It was so very entrancing.

I decided that today I wasn't going to have Spoden send the messenger away like usual. Instead, I would personally walk to the gates and listen to my message for once.

"Shall I tell her to scram?" I turned slowly away from the window at the sound of Spoden's voice.

"No, no. I'll go out there myself. I might actually listen today." Spoden's eyebrows raised and his expression was shocked, but he didn't comment.

"If you wish." He looked almost…sympathetic. He turned around and walked back out the door. It appeared that was all he had to say.

I looked once again out the window at the strange girl. This time, she was tapping her foot, her arms crossed over her chest. I chuckled. She must not be very patient.

As entranced as I was by watching through the window, I wanted to see her more clearly, closer up. I dropped the curtains and strode quickly through the house and down to the door; I was afraid that if I wasn't quick enough, she'd leave and be gone forever.

But when I opened the door, she was miraculously still standing there, her face getting more impatient by the second. But then she saw me, and she stood still.

As I walked up the path, I almost stopped dead in my tracks. This girl wasn't, couldn't be, a servant.

Her shimmering brown hair flowed down to the middle of her back, and it shone in the afternoon sun. Her figure was flowing, soft. She had curves where they were supposed to be, something most of the ladies in this land yearned for. Her lips were pale and slightly smaller than perhaps they should've been.

And then, as I came closer, her eyes widened, and my breath caught. The orbs I was looking into were chocolate brown, and they were sparkling in a hypnotic way. I could swear they held a soul, and a beautiful one at that.

My heart pounded in my ears.

The messenger's eyes held my gaze and I had to remind myself not to start hyperventilating. I could barely look away when I finally tore my gaze down to the lock.

It pained me to look away. But, a voice in my head reminded me, tearing your gaze away for a couple seconds will result in not having a barrier between you two.

Stop! A second voice retorted. She's only a servant! Don't let her have this effect on you! It's not right!

I knew that the part of my brain that was telling me to get a grip on myself was right. Yet that didn't stop me from wondering how good she would taste as my eyes passed her lips as I looked up from the ground into her own eyes.

"Come in." I was ever so grateful that my voice didn't falter. I opened the gates for this lovely girl, and she stepped timidly, yet so gracefully through the gate.

I led the beautiful messenger back down the path. Once we got inside the house, I headed for the sitting room (Once again, did they call it a parlor back then? Can someone please tell me?). I sat down and gestured for her to do the same.

"You had a message for me," I reminded her. She nodded a tiny nod, her face scrunching up in thought.

"Right." Her voice, just like her appearance, was so intensely beautiful. I longed to hear more.

"Well, it's from Miss Tanya," she informed me. I had already known that, but my face turned into a grimace once more anyway. After seeing my expression, her own became one of concern. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

I nodded slowly once. Anything to hear her voice again.

Okay, if you are reading this, then I am doing one of three things; creating my poll, posting my poll, or waiting for you to review to my poll. And, if you want to know what that poll is, be quiet! Because I am now going to answer your question.

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